Remnants of the Force
by jws381
Summary: An ancient temple on the planet Remnant hides a secret that could threaten the galaxy. Four heroes must uncover this secret before the Empire, or the Republic for that matter, get their hands on an unimaginable power. On hiatus.
1. Secrets

Chapter 1

Ruby walked carefully through the forests of her home planet of Remnant. It was a poor farming world on the very edge of galactic civilization. The wildlife could be hostile at times, but Ruby was by no means defenseless. Though not trained as a Jedi or Sith, her father saw to that, she had a strong connection to the Force. Besides, the trip was worth the effort. Not far from her home was an ancient temple. The temple itself was off-limits. The Sith had made that clear in blood many years ago. The area around it, however, held treasures. Lightsaber crystals of significant power and rare color filled the caves that surrounded the temple. Ruby had long ago constructed her own lightsaber, and had no interest in altering its design, but the crystals could be sold or traded. Her father made his money farming, but money was always tight and selling crystals provided some much needed credits.

Ruby reached the edge of the forest, where it ended sharply in the clearing that surrounded the temple. She could not see anyone around, so she stepped from the cover of the trees. Suddenly, amidst confused and angry shouts, a group of Mandalorian mercenaries rushed out of one of the temple's out-buildings and straight toward Ruby. They seemed to not even notice her at first but came to a sudden halt as soon as they did. The looks on their faces indicated that they were just as surprised to see her as she was to see them. One of the four leveled his blaster rifle at Ruby, and that was all the prompting she needed.

In a flash Ruby drew her lightsaber. The shape of the hilt made clear that it was double-bladed, and sure enough, with the push of a button, two brilliant silver blades leapt from either side. With a spin of the blade she deflected the Mandalorian's shot; quite accidentally back into the leg of one of his comrades. The injured man groaned with pain and fell over, pulling another down with him. Ruby charged, dodging shots as she approached, and sliced the Mandalorian's blaster in half. Already panicked when the encounter began, the mercenary dropped the useless half of his gun and ran off into the forest, followed by the others. The injured one struggled to keep up as he limped along.

The whole encounter was strange to Ruby. She had encountered many things on her trips to the temple – strange animals, bandits – but never professional mercenaries. The Sith would surely kill them if they knew about their entry into the temple. The Empire and the Sith had not been seen on Remnant in many years, but it would be foolish to think they were not watching. The temple was very important to them for some reason. More than that, what or who had chased them from the temple? The questions bounced around in Ruby's mind as she went about collecting crystals.

* * *

Yang had noticed that something was going on at the old temple near her home. She wanted to know what, and hoped it had to do with someone she had lost. She dare not investigate herself however. It was too dangerous. Confident though she was, she was not foolish enough to risk angering the Sith. Someone had to know though. In pursuit of some knowledge she had gone to Vale, the nearest city. It was not far away, and the seedier parts were full of just the sort of people who might know something. To avoid sticking out, Yang adopted a smuggler's style of dress, with her own twist. She wore a black vest over a yellow button-up shirt, the top few buttons open, black shorts and black boots. She would look the part of the rogue but keep her individual flair.

The best place to get information was the local cantina, and Yang spent hours there trying to find someone with the right connections. It was a bit dangerous given the characters of the patrons, and the day before she had gotten into a fairly significant scrap. She won, as evidenced by her return and her opponent's disappearance. Unfortunately, that fight had been the only event of note. No one seemed to know anything about the temple.

"Hey there Blondie." A man said. Yang sat in a booth, her legs resting atop the table. She turned to face him. It was the cantina's owner, along with a group of his enforcers. He went by Junior. "You owe me some money."

"Yeah?" Yang said. "For what?"

"That little scuffle you had yesterday did some serious damage." Junior said. "You put that guy's head through some expensive equipment."

"His head did the damage, get the money from him." Yang said flatly.

"I will once he's out of the hospital." Junior grumbled. "Now, are you going to pay or do we have a problem?" His thugs stepped forward, wielding vibroblades.

Yang sighed and stood up. She swiftly drew her lightsaber, the blade glowing violet, and swept it in a wide arc that forced the thugs to back up. She jabbed her hand, open-palmed, toward them, and an invisible wave of energy knocked them off their feet. Junior hesitated but Yang did not. With her free hand, she drew a blaster pistol and fired a shot between Junior's legs. The searing bolt of energy passed within inches of his manhood. "Here's what's going to happen." Yang said. "I'm going to leave. Tomorrow I'll be back. We're all going to pretend that today didn't happen. Then we'll all be great friends." Junior stood there, mouth agape, and said nothing. "Next time I won't miss." Yang threatened.

"Y-yes ma'am." Junior stammered.

"You can call me sir." Yang said as she slipped her blaster back into its holster and retracted her lightsaber. She headed for the exit confidently. Yang stepped out of the cantina feeling empowered by what she had just done, but also disappointed in her failure to find out anything useful. Fortunately, her luck was about to change.

"Hello there." A man said in a deep voice, just behind her. She spun around to see a short, thin man leaning against the cantina's wall, just beside the door. His blue skin and red eyes immediately marked him out as a Chiss. "I saw that. I saw your fight yesterday too. You know how to handle yourself."

"What do you want?" Yang asked, her hand on her lightsaber.

"You've been looking for information." The Chiss said with a sly smile. "Information is my business. There is most definitely something going on at the temple. I'd be happy to fill you in."

"What's the catch?" Yang asked.

"There's no catch." The Chiss said. "I just want some information in return. There is a woman at the temple, a new arrival. She has caused quite the stir. I want to know who she is and why she's there."

"Fine, I'll find out for you." Yang agreed. "What's going on there?"

The Chiss' smile grew. "For starters, the temple is not quite as abandoned as it would seem."

* * *

Weiss was the eldest daughter of the family that owned the Empire's largest arms manufacturer. That meant she would one day be the wealthiest and most powerful non-Sith in the Empire, just as her father was now. Until then, however, her choices were not her own. At her father's command, Weiss had become an officer in Imperial Intelligence. It was a position to be respected and feared. She would rather not have had it.

Weiss had no great love for the Empire. Her father knew as much and hoped her tenure in the service would correct that. She had developed her distaste for the Empire as a result of her tutor, a former Jedi. Weiss was born a force-sensitive. In the Empire, all force-sensitives were to be trained as Sith, but the process was brutal and dangerous, with most students dying before completing their training. Weiss' father had used his wealth and influence to hide his daughter's talent, and to acquire a tutor to properly refine it. Since the Sith could not know and a Jedi would never train the daughter of such a powerful Imperial, the only option was a Jedi who was no longer part of the order. Not wanted by the Jedi or the Sith, such a person would be perfect. Unfortunately, her tutor had retained some of his dislike of the Empire, along with some Jedi ideals, and passed them along. Though no fan of the Republic or the Jedi, the brutality and oppressiveness of the Empire made Weiss question her loyalty.

As the daughter of such a powerful man, Weiss was given mostly prestige assignments. The Empire could not risk angering one of its most important supporters. It seemed she had been given another one. On the backwater planet of Remnant, a world so remote and poor that the Empire and Republic did not even try to control it, there was apparently an ancient temple. The Sith had declared the place off-limits. Recently, however, someone had violated that prohibition. The Sith wanted to know who. It was a place where the light and dark sides of the force were both strong and mixed together, and as such it would not be of interest to the Jedi. More likely, the intruder was a local looking for artifacts to sell. Weiss would have to find him and kill him, or just rough him up a bit if she was feeling generous. The low priority of the mission was made clear by the fact that she was being sent alone. Still, there was something odd, something that made Weiss think there might be more to the whole affair. She had been given sealed orders, written on paper, that were not to be read until she arrived at Remnant. It was a strange precaution for any mission.

Weiss boarded her ship and was greeted by its protocol droid. "Welcome aboard master!" The droid said enthusiastically. "I trust you're having a wonderful day."

"Sure." Weiss said. The droid's peppy attitude was sickening. "Are we ready to fly?"

"Yes master." The droid replied. "The coordinates have already been loaded into the flight computer. Simply give the command and we will be off."

Weiss sat down at the pilot's console. She was trained to fly the ship manually, but it would do just fine flying itself. She fired up the engines and flicked on the autopilot. Traveling many times the speed of light, she arrived at Remnant in less than an hour. Now was the time to read her secret orders. She unsealed the paper and was terrified by what she read.

* * *

 _Agent Schnee,_

 _We at the Ministry of Intelligence have recently become aware of your force-sensitivity. It seems you and your father have committed a serious transgression against the Empire. Hiding a force-sensitive from the Sith is punishable by death. Fortunately for you, we have decided to keep this matter quiet for the time being. We may even be persuaded to forget the whole affair, assuming you succeed in your mission, which is as follows:_

 _The temple site on Remnant, on which you have already been briefed, has not been abandoned. A team of Imperial researchers have been hard at work unlocking the place's secrets. Recently, we have lost contact with the team. You are to ascertain their fate and secure the site for the next team of researchers. Anyone responsible for interfering with Imperial operations there is to be executed. We are confident that someone with your abilities should be able to accomplish this task. If not, die a hero of the Empire or return to face disgrace and execution._

 _Signed,_

 _The Minister of Intelligence_

* * *

Weiss must succeed or die trying. Even if successful, her fate upon returning to Dromund Kaas was uncertain. They may well just kill her anyway. Her father was untouchable, she was not.

* * *

Weiss approached the temple. Being an official Imperial representative dressed in a full Imperial officer's uniform, she had had no trouble intimidating the locals into bringing here there. They were quick to leave. The temple was an imposing stone structure built in a style she did not recognize as Jedi or Sith. There were supposed to be mercenaries guarding the site, Mandalorians, the best of the best, but they were nowhere to be found. On the ground sat a blaster rifle, sliced cleanly in half. Nearby was some blood. It was a sign of a struggle, but not nearly enough to account for the disappearance of the research team and their guards. Perhaps there were answers inside.

Weiss entered the temple through the monumental archway at its front. There were doors, but they were wide open. There were also more signs of combat. The walls were peppered with the results of errant blaster shots. It was a shame, they had damaged the intricate artwork that seemed to line every surface. There was a great mosaic on the floor consisting of two interlocking circles, one black and one white. Weiss took it to represent the place's connection with the light and dark sides of the force. Still there was no sign of the researchers.

Weiss traveled down, deeper into the temple. She came to a large room with an altar at the center. It was covered in ash with more spread across the floor nearby. Weiss touched the stone altar. It was still hot. Perhaps it had been a pyre. That would account for the lack of bodies. At the altar she could feel the light and dark sides of the force struggling against one another, both inside and outside of her. This place was powerful, no wonder the Sith had taken such a keen and secretive interest. The farther she went into the temple, the stronger Weiss could feel the Force.

Weiss climbed down the stone stairs, arriving in the temple's deepest chamber. The whole place had an otherworldly glow to it. Weiss was not alone. Across the chamber, sitting before another altar, was a cloaked figure. Still and silent, the figure seemed to pay Weiss no heed. She could feel its power. She drew her blaster and aimed it at the figure. "Identify yourself." Weiss called. The figure did not respond. "Identify yourself or I'll shoot."

"Go ahead." The figure replied in a woman's voice. "It will do you no good." Weiss knew the truth of the statement. A shot from a blaster pistol would do no harm to someone so powerful. "Why have you come here?"

"I'm here to find out what happened to the Imperial research team." Weiss said.

"They are dead." The figure said.

"I assume you killed them." Weiss accused.

"No, not all of them." The figure said as she stood. "This place is full of dangers." Still hidden by her black cloak, the figure reached out a hand. An invisible force pressed down on a plate built into the floor. Suddenly, a series of blades appeared from the ceiling and sliced through the air just above the plate. Anyone unfortunate enough to step on it would have been killed. Weis realized she had been unconsciously avoiding traps like this as long as she had been in the temple. The Force had guided her. "Those that resisted, I dealt with. Those that fled were cut down in their haste. I burned their bodies as a mark of respect for the deceased."

"Why?" Weiss asked. "Why attack this place?"

"This is a place of great power." The figure said. "No doubt you have felt it. It is a place where the light and dark sides of the force are magnified by each other. The secrets contained within this place are too dangerous for the Sith or the Jedi, the Empire or the Republic. They must remain secret."

"You know I can't let this stand." Weiss warned. "I will strike you down."

"You speak confidently." The figure said. "It is but a façade. Like this place you are conflicted. You were born to and raised in the dark but you long for the light."

She was absolutely correct, whoever she was. "What is this?" Weiss demanded. "Tell me who you are!" Weiss tossed her useless blaster aside and drew her lightsaber. Its red blade leapt from the hilt. "Jedi scum and your mind tricks!"

"I am no Jedi." The figure boomed. She turned around, the hood of her cloak dropping from her head to reveal a young woman. An extra set of ears atop her head marked her out as non-human. She drew two lightsabers of her own and faced Weiss. The blades were black, as dark as a black hole, but somehow they glowed yellow around the edges. "If you will not leave this place I will end you." The figure threatened.

Weiss charged, blade in her left hand, and thrust her right hand forward. Lightning shot from her fingers and out toward the figure. The figure caught the lighting on one lightsaber and threw the other at Weiss. Weiss deflected the blade away with her own and it boomeranged back to the figure. Before Weiss could reach the figure she was hit by an unseen wall of energy and pushed back. The Force push knocked her off balance, and she was only just able to dodge the figure's sudden, whirling attack.

Weiss sprung to her feet and extended her free hand at the figure, cupping her fingers. The figure was lifted off the ground, choking and struggling as Weiss focused. There was a sudden flash of yellow and black, and Weiss was forced to dive to the ground to avoid a flying lightsaber. The figure gathered herself, standing opposite Weiss. The figure reached out her hand to retrieve her thrown blade but Weiss slid in the way and caught it by the hilt. She quickly smashed the lightsaber on the ground, rendering it useless. Now it was a fair fight.

Out of breath, the two fighters stared each other down, the glow of their lightsabers giving the entire room a strange tint. "You know there's only one way this can end." Weiss said.

"I do." The figure replied.

Weiss reached out her hand and again lightning flew from her fingertips. The figure did the same, their attacks meeting in the middle. As each struggled for dominance, the energy began to build between them. A great ball of electricity grew where their attacks met, each refusing to back down. Finally it was too much for either to control. The ball of energy exploded with a blinding flash and a thunderous boom. Then all was silent and still.


	2. Hostility

Chapter 2

Yang stood at the entrance to the temple. She could see only darkness through the towering open doorway. She would never admit it, but she was afraid. Not only would the Sith want her dead if she entered, but she could feel the power of the place. It was at once dark and light, constantly churning. Even nature stayed away. Only short grass grew near the temple and animals never approached past the tree line. Still, Yang had to know who was inside. She took a deep breath and prepared to enter.

"Hey Yang!" Ruby shouted, just a few feet away. Startled, Yang jumped and turned to face her sister. "What are you up to?" Ruby asked.

"You shouldn't be here." Yang said. "It's too dangerous."

"You shouldn't be here either." Ruby countered. "You're planning to go inside, aren't you?"

"Someone's in there." Yang sighed. "I'm told it's an unknown woman. I've got to know if it's my mother."

"Let me help." Ruby offered.

"I don't want you to get in trouble." Yang said. "You know what the Sith will do if they find out you went inside."

"I don't want you to bear the burden alone." Ruby said. "Please, let me help."

The ground rumbled ominously and the sound of a great explosion came from the temple. A wave of overpressure blasted out the entrance, peppering the sisters with dust and dirt from inside before it sucked back in to equalize the pressure. "I need to know!" Yang shouted. She raced ahead and disappeared into the temple.

"Yang, wait!" Ruby called after her before following.

* * *

Weiss regained consciousness. She had a pounding headache. As her senses slowly sharpened she realized that she was lying in a bed. The last thing she remembered was the fight in the temple. If she was in a bed, it meant someone had come to her aid. If it was the Empire, she may have succeeded in her mission. It might all work out after all. Her vision was blurry, but she was vaguely aware of others in the same room. It did not have the feel of an Empire facility, even a field hospital. That was bad news. She rubbed her eyes and sat up.

Weiss looked across the room. Lying unconscious or asleep in another bed was her opponent from the temple. She was helpless. Now was her chance to complete her mission and save herself. She reached for her blaster. Nothing. She reached for her lightsaber. Nothing. She would have to do this the hard way. She reached out her hand toward the unidentified female in an attempt to use the force to electrocute her. Nothing. She could feel a strange burning sensation around her neck. She reached for it and found she was wearing a bulky metal collar. She began feeling around for a way to remove it.

"I wouldn't do that." A woman's voice said from behind her. Weiss turned to find a yellow lightsaber pointed at her face.

"I am Agent Weiss Schnee of the Imperial Intelligence Service." Weiss said with a firmness that disguised her internal dread. "In the name of the Emperor, I demand to know who you are and what your intentions are!"

"I'm Yang." The woman said. "I found you half-dead in the temple along with her." Yang pointed to Weiss' opponent. "My sister and I nursed you back to health."

"What's the collar for?" Weiss asked. "Am I to be your slave?"

"My slave?" Yang laughed. "It's always straight to the dark side with you Empire-types. It's a force suppressor. My sister and I were worried that you might be cranky when you woke up, so we slapped it on you as a precaution. Judging by how things have played out, I'm guessing we called it right."

"I demand you release me immediately so I can execute this criminal!" Weiss shouted, pointing to her opponent. "If you fail to do so I will call down the entire might of the Empire to kill you and your entire family. We will lay waste to this planet…"

"Enough already." Yang cut her off. "Look, no one's getting executed. I found your secret orders. It seems you and the Empire aren't exactly on friendly terms these days. Why don't we wait for your friend to wake up, and then we'll talk this whole thing over?"

Weiss was enraged but knew Yang was right. Weiss had no power at the moment. She should have destroyed her secret orders. What a fool she had been! She would have to change tack. "I have access to substantial financial reserves." Weiss said. "If you let me do as I wish, not only will the Empire leave you alone, but you'll be handsomely compensated."

"I already said we're going to wait." Yang said. "You can both have your say, then we'll decide what to do next."

"Fine." Weiss gave up for the moment. "Who are you anyway? A Jedi? Are you with the Republic? The Remnant militia?"

"I'm not with anyone." Yang said. "I'm definitely not a Jedi, dad saw to that."

"So why take an interest in the temple?" Weiss asked. "Surely you know the dangers."

"It's personal." Yang replied.

"Yang, I brought more medicine." Another girl said as she entered the room, carrying a tray with two cups of liquid on it. "Oh, she's awake."

"Yes, and very grouchy." Yang said.

"I would be too if I was threatened with execution." The girl said. Apparently she knew Weiss' secret too. "How's the other one?"

"She's still out cold." Yang answered.

"Oh, that's unfortunate." The girl sighed. She handed Weiss a cup before carefully pouring the other into the other woman's mouth. "I'm Ruby by the way. We've been taking care of you for a while now."

"How long is a while?" Weiss asked with growing concern.

"Oh, a week or so I guess." Ruby said. "You guys were in pretty bad shape."

"No!" Weiss shouted. "I have to report in now! If I don't I'm dead!"

"Calm down, no need to shout." Yang said. She reached into a bag beside the bed and pulled out Weiss' holo-projector. She tossed it to Weiss. "Go ahead and make the call. No funny business or there won't be enough left to execute." Ruby looked at Yang disapprovingly, apparently unhappy with the threat.

Weiss tapped the keys of the holo-projector until a holographic image appeared. It showed a man in an Imperial Officer's uniform. "This is Agent Schnee reporting in." Weiss said. "There have been…complications."

"Ah, Agent Schnee, I was just about to call you." The officer said. "We feared you had been killed. I've just arrived in orbit and I have some special orders I'm not to access until I'm in your presence. I'll meet you at the temple." The image disappeared and the holo-projector fell silent. Weiss looked at it in horror.

"I need her head now." Weiss said.

"Please calm down, you're not healed." Ruby said, grabbing Weiss by the shoulder. "You'll hurt yourself if you get worked up."

In a flash Weiss spun Ruby around and wrapped her arm around the girl's neck. She only applied enough pressure to hold her. "Take the collar off or I snap her neck." Weiss threatened. Ruby hastily reached into her pocket and produced a key. She handed it to Weiss who now squeezed tighter. She felt around the collar and found the keyhole. With a twist the collar slid off. "Now give me my weapons." Yang hesitated. Weiss squeezed tighter still.

"Yang…can't…" Ruby struggled. "Help…"

Weiss' foe stirred. The mysterious woman from the temple sat up slowly. She leapt at Weiss but Weiss saw her out of the corner of her eye. With her free hand she used the force to push her opponent back. Her concentration slipped and her grip loosened. Ruby wriggled free and was on the other side of the room in a flash. She and Yang drew their lightsabers and faced down Weiss, now alone and unarmed.

"Perfect, now if you'll sit back down, we can all have that little chat." Yang said, not taking her eyes off Weiss for a moment.

Weiss cursed under her breath. She had screwed up again. Her last chance was gone. She sat down. "Go ahead, talk." Weiss sighed.

"Alright mysterious lady, who are you?" Yang asked.

The woman pulled herself off the floor and onto her own bed. She looked very angry. "My name is Blake." She said.

"Who are you working for?" Weiss demanded. "The Republic? The Jedi?"

"Why would I work for them?" Blake asked. "They're scum, just like the Empire and the Sith."

"So what were you doing in the temple that has our Imperial friend so worked up?" Yang asked.

"There's a secret contained within." Blake said. "I've been protecting it. I must stop the Empire and the Republic from getting their hands on it. It's too powerful. It must remain buried, or it would be used to kill millions. The Empire were here trying to decipher it, but they didn't have the key. It's in a language they don't speak."

"I don't care about your reasons." Weiss said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's you or me. Either you die or I do."

"Imperial Intelligence will kill her if she fails her mission." Ruby said.

"When I go back I'll be executed as a traitor." Weiss said. "So if you don't let me kill her, you may as well do it. I trust you'll make it less painful…and less humiliating."

"Give my weapons and I'd gladly do it." Blake said. "There's no need for innocents such as yourselves to get blood on your hands."

"Nobody's killing anyone." Yang said.

Blake saw her opening. She ripped off her collar, a rusted old piece that should have been junked, and used the force to pull her lightsaber out of the bag at Yang's feet. She would kill the Imperial before anyone could stop her. In a flash of red Ruby was upon her. Blake found a silver lightsaber blade at her throat.

"No killing." Ruby said.

"Have you ever considered the third option?" Yang asked. "Weiss, I've read your orders. It doesn't look good for you even if you succeed. Why not just run away? The Empire won't waste its time on you, not when they're occupied with the temple." She turned to Blake. "And Blake, if the Empire can't decipher the secret there, why bother? Just let them waste their time."

"I have no particular love for the Empire…but…it's my home." Weiss said. Yang made a lot of sense, but she was not sure she could go through with it.

"What if the Empire finds someone who does?" Blake asked. "Then the galaxy will be laid waste."

"What if we found it first?" Ruby asked. "We could destroy it or use its power for good."

"What exactly are we dealing with anyway?" Yang asked.

"I don't know the exact nature of the power." Blake admitted. "It was created by the Infinite Empire and is said to have the power to enslave the galaxy as they did. Surely such a power must remain hidden."

"I bet we could destroy it." Yang said. "We don't really have better options. The Empire isn't going to stop until they figure it out, and even if we all worked together we wouldn't be able to hold them off. If we got there first we could make sure there was nothing left to find."

"That could work." Blake admitted. "I guess it's up to the Imperial."

"Please let me go to my meeting." Weiss requested. "If things go as badly as I expect, I'll be forced to join you anyway."

Ruby and Yang glanced at each other, unsure of what to do. "Go ahead and arm her." Blake said. "Just give me my other lightsaber. If you keep the balance of power there's no point in us fighting." That was as good a suggestion as they were likely to get. Keeping their weapons pointed at their guests, Yang and Ruby used the force to simultaneously return their weapons.

"You know we're going to follow you right?" Yang asked.

"And that we'll kill you if you try anything?" Blake added.

"The same goes for you." Ruby warned. "Can't we all just be friends?"

"No." Weiss and Blake said in unison.

* * *

Weiss approached the temple. The Imperial Intelligence officer she had spoken to was waiting at the doorway. She glanced back, taking one last look at the trio that hid at the edge of the forest. There was nowhere to run. She walked up to the officer, doing her best to hide her unease. "Sorry I'm late." Weiss said. "The wildlife here is dangerous."

"A blaster still kills them." The officer said. "Now that you're here I can finally read my orders." Weiss stepped up beside him, trying to read over his shoulder. She had to know if this was her end. "Very interesting." The officer said after he finished reading. Weiss could tell what the content had been. He already had his hand on his blaster. "So, have you made any progress?" He asked, not betraying his intentions.

"Actually, I have." Weiss said. She motioned him into the temple. She knew what she was about to do and did not want the others to see.

The officer shrugged and walked in, as far as a small altar in the entrance room. "What do you have for me?" He asked, getting impatient.

"There's an inscription." Weiss said. "I think it might be important." She pointed to a series of worn imprints on the surface of the altar.

The officer bent down to examine the inscription. He looked carefully, wiped away some dust with his hand and strained to read it. "I don't speak this language." He said. "Are you stalling?" He stood and turned around, only to find Weiss' blaster pointed at his forehead. He put his hands up. "Whoa, can't we talk this over." He beseeched. "I think we can come to some agreement."

"I'm afraid not." Weiss said. "Long live the Emperor." She said tauntingly. She pulled the trigger and a searing bolt of energy cut a steaming channel through the officer's head. His lifeless body tumbled to the ground. Weiss abandoned her holo-projector and all the rest of her equipment. She could not afford to be tracked. The die was cast, she was now a proper traitor to the Empire.

The other three came running at the sound of the shot. They found Weiss standing over the officer's corpse. "You killed him?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"He was going to kill me." Weiss said. "I guess this is it. There's no going back for me."

"Welcome aboard." Yang said. "Now, Blake, do you know where this secret is hidden?"

"I know where the map in the temple tells me to go." Blake replied.

"Let's go then." Yang said.

"It won't be that simple." Weiss said. "There's an Imperial cruiser in orbit. If we try to leave on my ship we'll be shot down. His death will keep them distracted for a while, but his orders make it pretty clear that they're not letting me off then planet alive."

"So we buy a new ship." Yang suggested. "We could sell yours and use the cash from that."

"Do you have a buyer in mind?" Weiss asked. "Most people won't touch stolen Imperial merchandise."

"I know just the guy." Yang said.

* * *

Yang walked into Junior's cantina. She was met at the door by a group of his thugs pointing their blasters at her face. She smiled widely. With a wave of her arm they were all thrown back. "Just leave her alone." Junior sighed from behind the bar. "I don't want this place wrecked again."

"Junior, just the man I wanted to see." Yang said as she walked up.

"Yeah, same." Junior said with less enthusiasm.

"I have a business proposition." Yang said. "I think it'll be right up your alley."

"What is it?" Junior asked. He felt like it was a shakedown, and it probably was.

"I hear you've got a great ship." Yang said. "I've got a great ship too. I'd like to trade. Mine's state-of-the-art, ex-Imperial."

"I don't touch Imperial stuff." Junior said.

"But you will for me." Yang smiled. She gestured down.

Junior looked down to see Yang's blaster aimed at his most sensitive area. He looked back up to meet her gaze. She retained her smile and tilted her head a bit. "Fine." Junior gave in. He handed her a datapad. "The codes are on here."

"It'll be prepped and ready to fly when I get there right?" Yang said.

"Of course." Junior agreed, desperate to end the nightmare.

"See, that was easy." Yang said. She tossed her own datapad to Junior. "Here's my ship's info. As always, a pleasure doing business with you."

Yang walked out of Junior's cantina and was met just outside the door by the Chiss that had told her about the woman in the temple. "So, do you have any information for me?" The Chiss asked.

"Sorry, the place was empty when I got there." Yang lied. "I guess your intel was wrong."

"How unfortunate." The Chiss sighed. "I will have to have a discussion with my source about feeding me rumors disguised as facts."

For some reason Yang was unnerved by the encounter. She walked off as quickly as she felt she could without arousing suspicion. She met up with the others at the spaceport. "I just got us the fastest ship on Remnant." She said, waving the datapad.

"I called dad and told him to get off the planet." Ruby said. "He already booked a ticket off-world. He's really worried about us."

"You always said how much you wanted to be a hero." Yang said. "How you want to protect people and make the galaxy a better place. This is our chance."

"Yeah, I guess." Ruby said. "It's hard leaving home like this though."

"Don't worry." Yang said. "As long as we can keep these two from killing each other we're in for a great adventure. This'll be fun."


	3. Bird of Prey

Chapter 3

"There she is, the Crimson Osprey." Yang said as the quartet entered the docking bay. The ship was red and silver, and shaped like a disc with a quarter cut out. In the missing quarter a conical glass cockpit jutted out from the structure. Various sensors and instruments poked out of the ship, and a ramp lead to a hatch between the landing legs. Four huge circular engines poked out the back. Atop the center of the ship was a gun turret and torpedo tubes aimed forward beside the cockpit. Judging by the scorch marks on its surface, it had seen battle and come out on top. "The fastest ship on Remnant." Yang added proudly.

"Wow, it's so cool." Ruby said in awe.

"It looks like it belongs in a scrap heap." Weiss said. "I don't think the parts even match correctly."

"As much as I hate to agree with the Imp, I think I have to." Blake sighed. "This ship looks like its falling apart. When I die I want it to be in combat, not when my ship disintegrates."

"Don't be so pessimistic." Yang said. "It's not the looks that matter. This ship punches way above its weight. It's got a Class 0.8 Hyperdrive and it's battle tested. It has run Imperial and Republic blockades without any trouble. It only looks bad because of all the modifications. Almost everything you can see is an upgrade."

"How do you know so much about it?" Weiss asked.

"I was a passenger once." Yang replied. "I was onboard for a smuggling run. I didn't really care about the credits; I was in it for the adventure. I promise it's a great ship."

Weiss and Blake were unconvinced by Ruby was exuberant. "This is so awesome!" Ruby exclaimed, already inside the ship. Her voice echoed through the docking bay. "It's even got turbolasers hidden behind a retracting panel!" Accompanied by a grinding a screeching, a portion of the front of the ship pivoted away to reveal four massive cannons.

"It certainly has enough armament." Blake said. "Well, it's the only chance we have."

"I suppose we should get going." Weiss sighed. Trading in a state-of-the-art Imperial ship for this piece of scrap seemed like a horrible deal, but Blake was right. They did not really have an alternative. "It won't take long for Imperial Intelligence to figure out something is wrong. We need to be long gone before they do."

The group climbed the ramp, and Weiss and Blake seemed pleasantly surprised by what they found inside. The interior looked modern and well-maintained, and though much of the ships mechanical workings were left exposed, they all seemed to be in good order. They joined Ruby in the cockpit and prepared to depart. "Can I fly?" Ruby asked. "Please."

"How can I say no to that face?" Yang laughed. "Go ahead." Ruby slipped into the pilot's seat and put on a headset.

"Wait, you're letting a child fly the ship?" Weiss was indignant. "I'm a professional!"

"Our father ensured we received a well-rounded, if a little unorthodox, education." Yang explained. "We're both great pilots. Besides, I doubt Blake would accept that arrangement."

"Crimson Osprey to Vale Control, requesting departure vector." Ruby radioed, not wasting any time. She nodded as control gave her instructions. "Repeating, Crimson Osprey cleared for departure, standard course." She received confirmation. Ruby punched the relevant coordinates into the flight computer, lit the engines and they were off.

"Set a course for Agamar." Blake said. "That's where we'll find the first map."

"What do you mean the first map?" Weiss asked. "I thought you knew where we needed to go."

"The temple here only provided the first step." Blake said. "The Rakata were very careful with their technology."

"Just how many maps are we looking for?" Yang asked.

"Maybe half a dozen, I don't know for sure." Blake replied. "I know the story about Revan and the Star Forge. He had to find several maps before the Star Forge could be located. According to the inscriptions in the temple, the first is in a temple on Agamar, along with the location of the next map. When the maps are combined, they will reveal the location of whatever it is the Rakata hid."

"This is insane." Weiss said. "It's bad enough we're chasing after a legend, but we don't even know where it is. I just…I need some time to myself. I'm picking a compartment and making it mine." She stormed out of the cockpit.

"That could have gone better." Yang sighed.

"What do you expect from an Imperial?" Blake said.

"Maybe if you were a bit more understanding, we could all get along better." Yang suggested. "Not all Imperials are evil."

"Says you." Blake growled. "I'm taking a compartment too, and I'll be locking the doors. I don't want her to slit my throat while I sleep." Blake stomped off as well.

"Looks like it's just us for now." Yang said, taking the seat beside Ruby. "How long to Agamar?"

"It'll be at least six hours." Ruby replied. "Maybe we should talk to them. We should really be on the same page when we arrive, just in case."

* * *

"Agent Mercury reporting in." The Chiss radioed. His encrypted radio would keep his transmissions hidden from prying ears.

"Go ahead agent." His controller replied.

"There has been a major development on Remnant." Mercury said. "Our suspicions seem to be confirmed. A disgraced Imperial Agent, Schnee, has joined an outlaw and two locals and departed the planet on a smuggler's ship."

"Is the ship being tracked?" The controller asked.

"Of course." Mercury answered. "As soon as it drops out of Hyperspace I'll have a location."

"Good, continue the investigation." The controller ordered.

"I recommend keeping this from the Empire." Mercury said. "If my hunch is correct, the technology they are pursuing could be of great value to the Ascendancy. Perhaps we can even supplant the Empire."

"Noted." The controller said. "If the Empire becomes an issue, be sure to deal with them in a plausibly deniable manner."

* * *

"I hope you have a damn good reason for disturbing me." The Minister of Intelligence growled. "I'm very busy and I don't have time to deal with trivial matters."

"Agent Schnee has gone rogue." The Imperial agent reported. "She murdered the agent leading our mission on Remnant, abandoned her personal belongings, pawned her ship, and disappeared."

There was an ominous pause on the minister's end. "This was not unforeseen." The Minister of Intelligence lied. "Is Schnee being tracked?"

"No, she was gone by the time her betrayal was uncovered." The agent admitted. The agent was worried, knowing the price of failure.

The minister knew the price of failure too. "We have agents across the galaxy." The Minister of Intelligence said. "If Schnee shows her face on any settled world, we'll know." It was hard to tell if he was trying to reassure the agent or himself. "Continue your mission on Remnant. The new archaeological team is on the way with the appropriate translator."

* * *

"Blake, please come open the door." Yang said as she knocked on the hatch. Blake had taken over the crew compartment nearest the engines. It was usually used by maintenance crew. She had locked herself in and refused to come out. Weiss had taken over the captain's quarters and done much the same. "I just want to talk." Yang implored.

With a click the hatch unlocked, followed by a whoosh as it slid open. "What do you want?" Blake asked, standing in the doorway. Yang pushed past her and sat on one of the bunks. "I know you don't trust Weiss, or anyone for that matter, but if we're going to save the galaxy we need to work together. With all we're facing we can't afford to be divided."

"I agree." Blake said. "That is why I suggest we throw Weiss out the airlock and do this with just the three of us."

"Why do you hate her so much?" Yang asked.

"Any representative of the Empire is an enemy of mine." Blake replied. "Given her father's exalted position…"

"I don't want to hear about her father." Yang cut Blake off. "I only care about you and her. Why do you hate the Empire so much?"

"Do you really want to know?" Blake asked. Yang nodded. "I suppose it's the only way you'll let this drop. The Empire enslaved my species, the Faunus. They took over our planet and set us to work mining materials to feed their war machine. Aside from the slavery, they've repeatedly carried out massacres against us. So few of us remain. When they found out I was force sensitive, they tried to take me to Korriban to brainwash me into being a Sith. Luckily I was able to escape. Ever since, I've dedicated myself to the destruction of the Empire."

"Why not join the Jedi and the Republic?" Yang asked.

"They're little better." Blake replied.

"You'll have to explain that too." Yang said.

"Just before I was taken, the Republic encouraged the Faunus to revolt." Blake said. "They promised they would send troops to assist us so we could free ourselves from the Empire. They lied. We were just a distraction, a ploy to draw Imperial soldiers away from the front. The support never came, and once the Empire got around to it, they crushed the revolt. Then they massacred us in reprisal. They killed almost three quarters of all Faunus, and the Republic just watched."

"That's horrible." Weiss said, standing in the doorway. Tellingly, she had changed out of her uniform and into a white dress with red and blue accents.

"How long have you been there?" Blake demanded. "What did you hear?"

"I heard that you have a damn good reason to hate me." Weiss answered. "I'm sure no apology I can offer would be enough, but know that I'm truly sorry for what the Empire did to your people. Their cruelty knows no bounds, and that is why I'm here, actively defying them."

"If the Empire finds what we're looking for before we do, imagine the atrocities they'll commit." Yang said. "We need to work together, and we need all the help we can get. I'm not asking you to trust her; I'm just asking the both of you to be civil."

Blake sighed and looked at her feet. "Please leave." Blake requested. "I need to do some thinking. Alone."

* * *

"There are an awful lot of Republic ships here." Ruby said as she piloted the Crimson Osprey to Agamar. The ship dipped into the atmosphere and headed for the spaceport.

"It's technically a Republic world, but this seems a bit much." Weiss said. Her anxiety was clear. "What are they up to?"

"Maybe they're looking for the same thing we are." Yang suggested.

"I doubt it." Blake said. "The Republic has never had a presence on Remnant. There must be something else."

"Let's just try to steer clear of them, okay?" Weiss said. "I might be on the run from the Empire but that won't stop them from using me if they get the chance."

"Don't land at the spaceport." Blake said. "We're heading for ruins in the forest to the west of Calna Munn. We would need additional transportation to get there, and landing directly at the site will keep us clear of the Republic as well."

"Alright, just tell me where to go and find a good landing stop." Ruby said, focused on guiding the ship.

"Blake, I never asked, why can you read the map in the temple?" Yang asked. "It seems like no one can but you."

"The Faunus were once subject to the Infinite Empire." Blake explained. "At the end, when they were losing their connection to the force, the Rakata language began to change to the point that few today can understand it. As one of the last species under their rule, many Faunus can still understand that lost dialect."

"So if the Empire brought a Faunus to the temple on Remnant, he could read the inscription for them?" Yang asked.

"In all likelihood, yes." Blake admitted. "Not all understand the language, and I would hope that he would refuse to assist the Empire, but it is a concern. That is why we must hurry." Blake looked out the window, squinting for a good view of the ground. "There." She pointed. "There are the ruins."

"There's an open field not too far away." Ruby said as she banked the ship toward the ground. "I'll put down there." The Osprey swept down and settled into a hover a few meters above the grassy field. Ruby lowered the landing gear and set the ship down with a light touch. She flipped a series of switches to shut down the engines and took off her headset, placing it on the control panel. The group disembarked and Yang hit a button to retract the ramp, locking the ship in the process.

"Now as long as we can get in and out unseen, we'll be in good shape." Blake said as the group advanced to the edge of the forest.

"Woohoo!" A woman's shout shattered the silence of the forest. It was soon joined by the whine of an approaching speeder bike.

"Who would be out here?" Yang asked.

"There are a few villages scattered around, but none of them are near here." Blake said.

"Wheee!" The voice and the bike were getting louder.

"Please slow down!" A man's voice countered.

A speeder bike, piloted by a woman with a man on the back holding on for dear life, weaved through the trees at incredible speed, heading straight for the group. At the last moment, the bike spun around 180 degrees, and the whine picked up to indicate the application of full throttle. It slid to a stop just beside them. "That was awesome!" The woman laughed as she climbed off. She wore a fighter-pilot's helmet and goggles, a white sleeveless top with a black vest over it, and a pink skirt.

The man, wearing a similar helmet and a green shirt accented with black and gold, was physically shaking as he hopped off. "Nora, please, don't ever do that again." He said.

"Aw, but it was fun." The girl, Nora apparently, sighed. She took off her helmet to reveal shockingly orange hair.

"What are you two doing out here?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"We could ask you the same." The man replied in a quiet, emotionless tone that was completely at odds with his companion. He took off his helmet to reveal messy black hair with a streak of pink.

"We asked first." Ruby said.

"We were going to visit some relatives in another village but…" The man started.

"But I decided to take a shortcut through the forest." Nora cut him off. "Wasn't it exciting?"

"It wasn't a shortcut." The man countered. "If we stuck to the road we would have been there already. Maybe I should drive from now on."

"So why are you guys here?" Nora asked. "Is that your ship? Where are you from? Are you smugglers? Or pirates?" Her excitement mounted and the speed of her speech increased with every question.

"Nora, let them answer." The man said as he laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry." Nora said.

"We're archaeologists." Blake lied. "We heard there were some interesting ruins nearby, and we were hoping to study them."

"Oh, you must mean the ruins where that crazy cult lives." Nora said.

"Crazy cult?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, so crazy guys with lightsabers hang out in the ruins." Nora explained. "If you get close they start shouting gibberish at you."

"And if you attempt to enter they'll try to kill you." The man added.

"I don't like the sound of that." Ruby said.

"Don't worry, Ren and I know a secret way in." Nora said. Her unbridled excitement was tempered by mischievous sneakiness. "Don't we Ren?"

"We do." Ren admitted.

"It gets you past most of the cultists." Nora said. "When we were kids we would sneak in and explore. It was really exciting."

"There are many ancient artifacts inside." Ren said. "I think the cultists worship them. Unfortunately, all the inscriptions are in a language I don't understand, so I can't give you more information."

"Could you tell us about the secret entrance?" Yang requested.

"It's easier to just show you." Nora said. Ren rolled his eyes but did not protest. "Follow us." She retrieved a staff tied to the side of the speeder bike and slung it across her back. "Just in case we get caught." She explained.

* * *

"They've landed on Agamar." Mercury reported to his Chiss controller.

"That doesn't make sense." The controller said. "There's nothing there but farms. It's only a good option if they're trying to hide."

"It was part of the Infinite Empire." Mercury reminded him. "It hasn't been extensively explored, so there might be something there we don't know about."

"Keep an eye on them, but do not confront them." The controller ordered. "We only need to know their ultimate destination and we don't want them to know they're being followed."

"There is a complication." Mercury warned. "A sizable Republic Fleet is currently in orbit around the planet. It could be a coincidence, but if they're after the same thing it could lead to a confrontation."

"We'll worry about that if it becomes an issue." The controller said. "Just track the targets and keep track of Republic comms traffic."

"Understood." Mercury said.

"Just so you're aware, the Ascendancy has decided to keep you mission secret from the Empire for the time being." The controller informed him. "You are not to disclose your mission or assist Imperial forces in any way."

* * *

Back in the temple on Remnant, the Imperial research team had arrived with their translator. "What does it say?" The lead Imperial researcher asked.

"It speaks of a map." The Faunus man replied. "Since it was left by the Rakata, I suspect it is only part of a larger map, like the one that led to the Star Forge. We're dealing with a power that may be on that level."

"Does it say where we can find the parts?" The researcher asked.

"The first part is on Agamar." The Faunus answered. "Information there should lead us to subsequent parts."

"Thank you Adam." The researcher said. "You've been an asset to the Empire, as always. It's clear why they trust you with such an exalted position among your people. It's unfortunate that others of your species are not so helpful."

"They will come around eventually." Adam said. "Or we will make them."


	4. Agamar

Chapter 4

Ren put a finger over his lips and motioned for the group to duck down. "We're close." He whispered. There was no need for him to tell them. Like the temple on Remnant, the ruins were strong in the Force, a place where the light and dark sides mixed. Nora was silent but too full of energy to be still, shaking with excitement. The ruins were just visible through the trees, overgrown with vines and crumbling. Ren slid up next to a low wall covered with plant life and examined it intently. He ran his fingers along the top, coming to a halt at a small crack. He followed it down, and then pushed the vines and leaves away to reveal a small tunnel.

Nora rushed inside. The sounds of her crawling along, her staff scraping against the stone, echoed from the tunnel. The sound of her grunting followed by a series of bricks hitting the floor shattered the quiet. Ren peeked up over the wall to see if anyone had heard, but saw no one. "All clear!" Nora's voice emanated from the tunnel in what may have been the loudest whisper in history. Ren nodded and gestured for the others to enter.

Ruby scooted into the tunnel ahead of the others. The rest hesitated. "Come on, it's not so bad." She called back. Yang shrugged and headed in next, followed by Blake. Weiss, used to clean opulent surroundings needed a moment to work up the courage.

"Are you going?" Ren whispered. "If we just stand here they'll find us eventually."

"I…I'm going." Weiss sighed. She crouched down and peered into the darkness. She took a deep breath and crawled inside. It was far worse than she had imagined. The tunnel was thick with dirt and cobwebs. Insects scuttled around everywhere she looked. She wanted to scream but she closed her eyes and pressed on. After she crawled for what seemed like miles she sensed that the tunnel had opened up. She opened her eyes to find herself in a dimly lit chamber, surrounded by the others. A few moments later Ren emerged behind her.

"Too much for you princess?" Blake taunted. Weiss realized she was hyperventilating and trembling.

"That was…worse than I anticipated." Weiss said.

"Don't worry about it." Ren said. "I hate that tunnel too."

"Well, should we explore now?" Nora asked. "There's some cool stuff this way." She pointed down one of the corridors that branched off the chamber. The entire place appeared to be lit by torches. That meant someone had been there recently to light them.

"Have you guys ever been caught?" Ruby asked with obvious concern.

"A few times." Nora replied, oblivious to Ruby's anxiety. "Ren and I are really fast and the cultists are pretty clumsy. They never followed us into the tunnel. Besides, we're much better fighters." She started deeper into the ruins as the others followed. Ren took up the rear, watching their backs. He was clearly aware of the danger, even if Nora was not.

Their footsteps echoed through the ruins, the surrounding silence only magnifying their awareness of the racket. "You should have worn quieter shoes princess." Blake growled at Weiss. "Who wears heels at a time like this?"

"Quiet, you both need to get along." Yang snapped. "We'll all end up dead if you don't." The outburst shut everyone up.

They silently proceeded down the eerie corridor until reaching a pile of stone tablets. "Unfortunately I can't read any of these." Ren said, gesturing toward the pile.

Blake picked up a tablet, then another, and another. "This isn't what we're looking for." She said after sifting through the pile.

"The cool stuff is just over here." Nora called from further down the corridor. She picked up an ancient weapon and swung it around. She clearly had some skill, even if not with that particular type of weapon. More weapons were scattered across the floor or piled on decaying racks.

"This isn't it either." Weiss said. She was getting impatient and annoyed with Nora's perpetual cheeriness. "Is there anything else?"

"Well, we've never been down the stairs." Ren said. "Nora was too scared."

"We were kids!" Nora defended herself. "I'm not afraid now. Let's go." She led on through the winding ruins. Eventually the corridor terminated at a doorway. Light streamed through, coming from a hole in the ceiling beyond. The midday sun cast a shaft of light down a spiraling stairway that dropped deeper underground. Nora looked nervous but retained her exuberance.

The others could feel it too. There was great power down there. It was dark, darker than any in other parts of the ruins or on Remnant. "No sense waiting and worrying." Yang said. She began the descent, carefully making her way down the crumbling stairs. The others followed, Nora and Ren lagging behind. A pitch-black corridor branched off at the bottom of the stairs. There were no torches here. Apparently the cultists were just as wary.

"I can't see a thing." Ruby complained. She started to reach for her lightsaber, hoping to use it to cast some light, but Yang stopped her. Archaeologists did not carry lightsabers, and they were not prepared to tell Nora and Ren why they were really there.

"Don't worry, I've got it." Nora said. She walked to the front of the group and took a deep breath. She held out her hand and snapped her fingers. A ball of luminous energy appeared above her hand. Apparently she was a Force user as well.

Weiss walked to the side of the corridor, away from the others. She could sense a point where Force energy was focused. Indecipherable runes on the floor marked the location. She held her hand over the point, curious but cautious. "So you can feel it too." Ren said, walking up behind her. "I would leave it alone if I were you. The dark side is powerful and dangerous."

"Yeah, go on ahead, I need to investigate this." Weiss said. Ren shrugged and rejoined the rest of the group. Dark side energy of this magnitude was indeed dangerous, but she needed to face it. Being as closely tied to the Empire as she was, most people automatically assumed she was evil. Blake certainly did, and Ruby and Yang may not admit it but she suspected they did too. She was beginning to believe them. She had to prove, to herself if no one else, that she could resist the dark side. Weiss stepped onto the runes and dark side energy flowed through her. Her mind was filled with images of violence but also of power, domination. It called to her to give in and accept the dark side. It was tempting, very tempting. She struggled with every fiber of her being. It felt as if her mind was being torn apart. Finally she had enough. Weiss stepped away unbroken. She had resisted the dark side but was left feeling fear.

"Weiss are you okay?" Ruby asked.

"I'm fine." Weiss lied. "Let's move on."

Nora led on lighting the way. "Here we are." She said as the corridor opened into a large circular room. The chamber was bathed in unnatural light as if the very air was glowing.

In the center was a stone pedestal. Dark and light mixed there but the dark side was overpowering. Blake approached cautiously. She carefully examined the inscriptions. "This is it." She said as she placed her hand on the center of the pedestal. A blue glow emanated from her hand and seeped into the pedestal. There was a blinding flash, and then a holographic map of the galaxy appeared in the air. The map was incomplete, but one point was marked. Blake pointed to it. "That's our next stop." Yang recorded the data with her datapad.

"This is amazing." Ruby gasped in awe. "How does it work?"

"It's powered by the force." Blake explained. "You just need the acuity and to know what to do." She pulled her hand back and the map disappeared.

Nora stood nearby, her mouth agape. For a moment, she was uncharacteristically silent. It did not last long. "That was the coolest thing _ever_!"

"Now, the question is what we do with these two." Weiss whispered to Blake, Ruby and Yang. "We can't just leave them here. They've seen too much."

"We can't just kill them." Ruby protested. "They helped us."

"I don't think we have much choice." Blake said. "We can't risk the Republic or Empire picking them up."

"Maybe they'll join us." Yang suggested. "We could use the help."

"We don't even…" Weiss started.

"Behind us!" Ren shouted, cutting the conversation short. Looking back into the corridor from whence they had come, they could see innumerable red lightsabers. The glow from the weapons cast an unnerving light onto their wielders, the cultists. The did indeed look insane as Nora had said.

"I don't think running is going to work this time." Nora said. Strangely, she was smiling. She swung the staff off of her back, and with a series of clicks one end of the staff morphed into a giant hammer.

"Don't take any unnecessary risks." Ren told Nora. He bent then rapidly straightened his arms and a pair of vibrodaggers slid out of his sleeves and into his hands. With a chorus of battle cries the cultists charged.

* * *

Imperial Navy Admiral Torchwick led his small squadron to Agamar. He was honored to be on such a prestigious and important mission, but he was not happy about the details. First of all, the Faunus Adam was the one telling him where to go. Even for something as simple as navigation, he could not stomach taking orders or even advice from a sub-human. The second issue was the size of his command. His ground forces were negligible, just one squad of troopers led by a minor Sith. At least he had been able to choose the Sith. His fleet was just as pathetic; in fact, fleet was a very optimistic designation. It was not even large enough to be a proper squadron. He only had two frigates and the ship Agent Schnee had been sent to Remnant aboard. He made Schnee's ship his flagship, giving it the name Melodic Cudgel. It was the smallest but by far the best equipped. It even had some stealth capabilities, and combined with its secure comms system it was an ideal command ship.

Torchwick's ships dropped out of Hyperspace near Agamar, and he was immediately in for a surprise. "Republic ships, dead ahead!" His comm officer announced with alarm. "Eight ships of frigate class or higher!"

Torchwick was in a terrible bind. His ships had no hope of fighting off the Republic flotilla, but to retreat would mean failure, disgrace, and likely death. "Hold off the enemy at all costs." Torchwick got on the comm himself. "We're making a run for the planet." Torchwick slid over to the controls and set Melodic Cudgel on a course for the planet and opened the throttles. If he could get into the atmosphere and activate the stealth systems, he would be almost impossible to find.

One frigate took up a blocking position and fired indiscriminately at the Republic ships. The other headed straight for the Republic capital ship at full speed without firing. The most immediate threat appeared to be the ship shooting back, so the Republic ships focused their fire on the blocking frigate. Its guns were silenced almost immediately. Gas venting from its penetrated hull sent it into a spin. The spin accelerated until the stress became too much for the ship's structure to handle. It shattered into several pieces just before the reactor exploded in a blinding flash that effectively obliterated all that remained of it.

The second frigate continued its headlong charge at the Republic capital ship. As it closed it opened up with all guns, pounding the capital ship as it began to take evasive maneuvers. It was too late. The frigate slammed into the Republic ship dead center. It crushed and shredded its way deep into the capital ship, leaving both ships dead. The capital ship began to slowly spiral, all control lost. Another Republic ship swept in to assist, but the capital ship erupted in a tremendous, blinding explosion, taking the assisting ship with it.

Melodic Cudgel burned into the atmosphere and streaked to the far side of the planet, activating its stealth systems along the way. With the Republic fleet left leaderless and in disarray, Torchwick could be relatively sure of remaining hidden. He still had the most important elements of his command, including his ground forces. There was still a good chance of success, so long as he could avoid future encounters with the Republic fleet.

* * *

As the cultists rushed forward, Nora charged to meet them. Her hammer looked as if it could not do much damage, as it was almost just a skeletal frame for a hammer head. Just before she swung it, the head of Nora's hammer glowed brightly as the space inside the frame filled with energy. Her mastery of the Force was impressive. Nora spun completely around and slammed her hammer into the lead cultist, striking him solidly in the chest. A combination of the power of her swing and a blast of Force energy sent the cultist flying backward and into his fellows, knocking many of them over like bowling pins. Their weapons were turned against them as their clumsy flailing sliced into each other. Still they did not relent.

The cultists surrounded Nora as she swung her hammer back and forth to keep them at bay. Ren lunged forward, plunging a dagger into the back of one of the cultists. Another turned to face him, slashing with his lightsaber. Ren deflected the blow, wrenched his dagger out of the first cultist and cut into the neck of the second. Soon he too was surrounded. The cultists just kept coming as if their numbers were infinite. Nora's wide swings and Ren's twirling stabs would only keep them back for so long.

It was time to intervene. Ruby charged forward with tremendous, Force-boosted speed, lowered her shoulder into a cultist. He tumbled over and knocked down two others as he fell. A cultist charged Ruby from behind, but she caught him in a whirlwind of Force energy. The cultist flailed about helplessly as he was suspended and flipped around in the air. Ruby ended his dizzying ride by tossing him at another group of oncoming cultists. Ruby drew her lightsaber as a cultist rushed at her. She deflected his blow and spun around, encountering unexpected resistance, before landing a devastating punch to the cultist's chest. She turned to see what had slowed her spin. She was horrified to see a cultist sliced in two, apparently by her lightsaber as she spun. "I…I killed him." Ruby stammered.

"You sure did." Blake said. "Good job kid." Blake threw one of her lightsabers. As it boomeranged around the room it scythed through dozens of cultists, lopping off limbs and more. Weiss stepped up beside her and together they blasted Force lightning into the cultists. Those that were struck writhed and collapsed.

Yang leapt high into the air, landing in the middle of a group of cultists. She drew her lightsaber and blaster, defending herself with the former and picking off cultists with the latter. She was horrifyingly efficient, but something dangerous caught her eye. "Blake!" She shouted. "Behind you!" A cultist charged up behind Blake as she was distracted fighting the main group.

Blake turned to look but it was too late to bring her lightsabers around. The cultist, lightsaber held over his head, sliced downward. The lightsaber, with the cultist's hands still attached, sailed just over Blake's shoulder as Weiss sliced through the cultist's wrists. The cultist screamed and as he stared at the steaming stumps and Weiss put him out of his misery with a stab to the heart. "You…you saved me." Blake stuttered.

"Thank me later." Weiss said, still pressing the attack against the remaining cultists. Their numbers had been significantly thinned. Only about a dozen remained and though they may have been insane, even they recognized the hopelessness of their situation. The few remaining cultists fled, leaving their weapons behind as they raced to escape the slaughter. They were not pursued, the victors too exhausted and without a desire to kill them once the threat was gone.

"We never had to kill that many before." Nora said. Her emotion was harder to read than usual, but she did not seem troubled.

"They must have been protecting this chamber." Ren surmised.

"I…I…we…killed…so many." Ruby was in shock. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She had never killed anyone before. She had never even injured anyone intentionally.

"It's okay." Yang said, wrapping her in a tight hug. "We had to. They would have killed us otherwise."

"It gets easier." Weiss said, not really helping the situation.

"I'm not sure we should be looking at these cultists as people." Blake said. She crouched beside one of the corpses, examining the face. "There are clear signs of extreme dark side corruption. I'm not just talking about being evil. I'm talking about the kind that destroys the mind, leaving behind a shell of anger and hate. They haven't lived for a long time." She joined Yang in trying to console Ruby.

"Just exactly what kind of archaeologists are you?" Ren asked. His weapons were drawn and though his voice betrayed no emotion, his face was stern.

"I guess this charade isn't going to hold up anymore." Weiss sighed. "We're not archaeologists at all."

"So, Empire or Republic?" Nora asked. She seemed genuinely curious rather than angry.

"Neither." Weiss replied.

"So why are you here?" Ren asked. "What was that map?"

"The map leads to an ancient power buried by the Infinite Empire." Weiss admitted. "We aim to reach it before the Empire or the Republic does so we can prevent it from being used to devastate the galaxy. Neither faction can be trusted with it."

"Sounds fun." Nora said. "Can we come? Please?" She began begging and pouting like a child.

Weiss looked back to the others. Blake shrugged. "It's fine with me." Yang said.

"Do you even want to?" Weiss asked of Ren.

He shrugged. "It sounds like a worthy cause." He said.

"I suppose we could use all the help we can get." Weiss said.

"Yay!" Nora cheered as she jumped for joy. "We get to go on an adventure!" Her childlike enthusiasm stood in stark contrast to her hardened killing skills. Ren was an enigma, but he could certainly fight. How they ever got along was a mystery.

A sickening feeling overcame the entire group. "I sense a great disturbance in the Force." Blake said. "I sense many sudden deaths, nearby." They all felt it.

"It couldn't be what happened here." Yang said. "We need to leave now."


	5. Gathering Storm

Chapter 5

With most of the cultists dead or maimed, there was no need to use the secret tunnel to exit the ruins. The group rushed straight out the front and into the forest. Something terrible was happening and they needed to leave fast. It was only a short distance to the Crimson Osprey, and they made it to the clearing in just minutes. They were not the first to arrive. A small group of well-armed soldiers, Imperial judging by their uniforms, milled about. A few were looking for a way to gain access to the Osprey while others tore through the belongings tied to Ren and Nora's speeder. An Imperial officer was talking to a woman in robes. She was short, with pink and brown hair, and a lightsaber hung at her side. She was surely a Sith.

"I can't go out there." Weiss said, hiding with the others at the edge of the forest. "They'll kill me on sight."

"I think they'd kill any of us." Blake said. "We need to take them down, all of them. The Empire can't find the map."

"You're right, no survivors." Yang agreed.

"I…I don't think I can do it." Ruby said. "Killing is wrong."

"Ruby, you always wanted to be a hero, right?" Yang asked. "Like the stories I read to you when you were little?"

"Yeah." Ruby said.

"Well, to be a hero, sometimes you have to do some less than heroic things." Yang said. "Those are evil people who will kill us if we don't kill them first. If we don't do this, they'll get their hands on the power to kill a lot more, and they won't agonize over it the way you do. You don't have to fight, just…just understand." Ruby nodded.

"So, how should we approach this?" Ren asked.

"Yang and I will take on the Sith." Blake said. "The rest of you should deal with the other soldiers. Alright, on…" Blake looked to her sides but Nora was gone. With a mad cackle Nora slammed her hammer into one of the Imperial soldiers near the speeder. "Just go!" Blake shouted, and the others charged in.

The first soldier Nora hit went tumbling through the air and landed hard some distance across the field. Another, originally standing just beside him, did not even have a chance to raise his weapon before Nora slammed her hammer down on his head, smashing him into the ground. The other soldiers turned, took aim and Nora, and fired. Weiss arrived just in time, getting in the way and deflecting their shots with her lightsaber. At the same time, Ren swept in from the flank, sinking a dagger into one soldier's neck. He immediately threw his other weapon into the chest of another nearby soldier. Blake and Yang charged out of the forest, heading directly for the Sith. Weiss charged at the soldiers, Nora close behind, deflecting shots as she went. The officer took cover behind one of the Osprey's landing legs and began shouting orders, but it was no use. The attackers had the Imperials on the back foot and caught most of them far from cover. Ren continued to roll them up from the flank as Weiss and Nora's frontal assault kept them distracted.

The Sith had seemingly disappeared. Yang and Blake arrived at her last location, deflecting the sporadic fire they received from the Imperial troops. The Sith suddenly appeared, as if out of thin air, behind the pair. Yang swung her lightsaber around and caught the Sith's, the two locking together in a test of strength. Blake stepped in to assist but with a wave of her hand, the Sith blasted Blake in the chest with a Force push that knocked her down. The Sith followed up by kicking Yang in the midsection to break their stalemate. A second kick, this time to Yang's face, knocked her to the ground as well.

With a deranged smile, the Sith stood over Yang, preparing to deliver a killing blow. In a flash Ruby arrived with inhuman speed and caught the Sith's lightsaber with her own. Going for speed over strength, Ruby spun around, attacking with the second blade of her lightsaber while the other still held the Sith's blade. The Sith acrobatically jumped over Ruby, but their sabers remained tied up. Now Blake was back in the fight and behind the Sith. She slashed at the Sith, but she dodged aside and Blake only narrowly avoided missing Ruby. The Sith had seemingly disappeared again.

Ren, Nora and Weiss had just finished off the last of the Imperial soldiers and now turned to their officer. The man looked more annoyed than afraid as he fired at them from the cover of the landing leg. "Neo, do your thing!" The officer called. Suddenly, the Sith appeared at his side. The pair backed away from the attackers, the Sith shielding the officer. Yang was having none of it. She charged at the pair, firing her blaster and her saber ready to strike. The Sith deflected the blaster shots, then she and the officer knelt down. Yang swung her lightsaber with all her might and connected, but the Sith and the officer shattered like glass.

"I've never seen a trick like that." Ruby said in astonishment.

"Where did they go?" Yang growled. Her rage was boiling.

"I can't believe they got away." Blake said. "At least we took care of the soldiers." The field was strewn with Imperial corpses, sliced and mangled by the battle.

"That should give us some time at least." Weiss said. "We should get out of here before they have a chance to regroup. Even if only two are left, I don't want them following us."

"Agreed, we should depart immediately." Ren said.

* * *

"We just got our asses kicked by a bunch of kids." Admiral Torchwick said. "Goddamn worthless soldiers." Neo, the Sith under his command, sat expressionless nearby.

"The Empire won't be happy." Adam said. Torchwick had ordered him to stay with the ship until it was clear. That order was not looking like a life saver.

"You think I don't know that?" Torchwick snapped back. "At least it's not a total loss. We can still find the map. Those punks got on their ship and left."

"Well then, shall we go?" Adam asked.

"You're awfully eager." Torchwick observed.

"The Empire promised me great rewards upon our success." Adam said. "I intend to press on in spite of your incompetence." Torchwick desperately wanted to kill Adam then and there, but he needed the Faunus. He also needed some news of success to go with word of his failure if he was to avoid execution.

* * *

Ruby pressed the headset to her ear. "The Republic fleet's in disarray." She reported to the others. "Look!" She pointed out the window at the clumps of debris that were the remains of the Republic flagship. "That must have been what we sensed in the ruins."

"This is bad." Yang said. "This could tip off the Republic that something is going on. We don't need them on our tail too."

"I'm more worried about how the Empire found us." Weiss said. "Did they track us?"

"There's a more disturbing possibility." Blake said. "They may have translated the inscriptions on Remnant. That would mean a Faunus is helping them."

"Whatever the case, we need to get out of here as soon as possible." Yang said. "Let's see where the map leads." She loaded her recording of the map into the ship's computer, and it fixed on their next destination. "Looks like we're heading to Rhen Var."

"I've never heard of it." Ruby said.

"It's frozen, just like Hoth." Nora said.

"There was a battle there in the last war." Weiss added. "The Republic won with massive losses. Now almost no one lives there. It's a wasteland."

"Frozen wasteland or not, the next part of the map is there so we have to go." Blake said.

Ruby punched in the coordinates and the ship entered Hyperspace. "It'll be a long trip." Ruby said. "We should probably get some rest."

"Speaking of which, we should probably assign bunks." Yang suggested. "I don't think our current arrangement is going to work."

"I don't plan on moving." Weiss said.

"That's fine, those quarters are large enough for two." Yang said. "You'll just share with Blake."

"Are you crazy?!" Blake shouted. "I'm not sharing a room with her."

"For once we're on the same page." Weiss said. "There's no way."

"You're sharing it, and you're going to like it." Yang said. "You two need to learn to get along if we're going to pull this off. As much as I hate to force it, I think that's what it'll take."

"Come on, maybe if you spend some time together you'll find some common ground." Ruby said. "If it doesn't work out we can always move around later."

"I'll get my things." Blake sighed. She walked out of the cockpit.

"I guess you aren't going to let this drop." Weiss said. "Fine, I'll do it until we get to Rhen Var. After that, no guarantees. I'd better go make sure she doesn't mess with any of my belongings." Weiss departed as well.

"What's their problem?" Nora asked.

"Weiss is a former Imperial Intelligence officer and the daughter of the Empire's largest arms manufacturer." Ruby explained. "Blake's species was enslaved and almost exterminated by the Empire."

"Aren't you worried they'll kill each other?" Ren asked.

"A little I guess." Yang admitted. "They're much better than they were. At least they're somewhat civil and not constantly fighting."

"So where will we stay?" Nora asked.

"I hope you don't mind sharing a room." Ruby said. "The room Blake had before had four bunks, so you could use that. Yang and I will take the other crew cabin."

"Sharing's fine!" Nora declared. "Let's go check it out!" She grabbed Ren by the arm and dragged him away.

"They are…quite the pair." Yang said.

"So are Weiss and Blake." Ruby said. "I think they have more in common than they realize."

"Maybe they do." Yang said. She laughed. "If they don't kill each other first they might even figure that out themselves."

* * *

"It doesn't make sense." General Ironwood said. The Republic had tasked him with investigating the disastrous space battle that had taken place above Agamar. "Why would the Empire attack a small agricultural world with barely any Republic presence and no strategic value? Why wouldn't they bring a larger fleet to do so? Granted, if our fleet hadn't been there to resupply they would have been unopposed, but the Empire has always used excessive force."

"Perhaps there's something about Agamar we don't know about." Jedi Master Ozpin suggested. He was on the council of one of the Jedi's many academies and was a long-time friend of Ironwood's. "If I'm not mistaken, there are ruins there that the Jedi are forbidden to enter. The dark side is strong in that place."

Ironwood respected the military prowess of the Jedi, but had no interest in their teachings or quasi-religion. "Are some old ruins worth the effort?" Ironwood asked. "The Sith love their dark temples but they've got plenty on worlds under their control. Agamar's just got a pile of bricks with some evil energy."

"Perhaps you're missing the point." Ozpin suggested. "We've not explored the ruins. Something inside may be of great value. Do you have any other leads?"

"Just one, and it's pretty tenuous." Ironwood admitted. "A smuggling ship arrived just before the battle, landed somewhere on the planet, and departed just afterward. The timing might just be a coincidence but it was strange that it did not land at the spaceport."

"There are no coincidences." Ozpin said. "You should investigate that ship."

"I'll assemble a fleet and go after it." Ironwood said. "I'll send a team to look into the ruins as well."

"Perhaps instead of a fleet, you should send a scout." Ozpin recommended. "A single smuggler's craft could easily slip away from a clumsy fleet, but a nimble reconnaissance could keep closer watch."

Ironwood hated to admit it, but overwhelming force was probably not the best option, just as Ozpin suggested. It also helped that he had just the scout in mind. "Well old friend, I shouldn't take any more of your time." Ironwood said. "You've given me some good ideas, so thank you."

"It's been a pleasure as always." Ozpin said. "May the Force be with you."

* * *

As bad as things had gone on Agamar, they got worse for Admiral Torchwick. After reporting in, he had been ordered to return to Dromund Kaas before proceeding to Rhen Var. He had been assured he would not be executed, since his mission had technically been a success. His losses however were a great concern and it was decided that a new commander should be appointed above him. Worse, it would be a Sith Lord.

Working with Neo was one thing. Torchwick was technically in charge and Neo was not like other Sith. Most Sith went on and on about the dark side. Neo said nothing. Most Sith would make constant death threat over the most minor, petty things. Neo made no threats, she simply killed if it was called for. Working with a proper Sith Lord was painful. They looked down on everyone, treated non-Sith like garbage and were prone to bouts of indiscriminate killing.

Torchwick waited in the hangar with his ship, Neo standing beside him. The Sith was late. They usually were. If he was ever late to a meeting with a Sith, he could count on losing his head. It just made him more annoyed. Finally, the Lord arrived with an apprentice in tow. "My Lord." Torchwick said with a bow. "I relinquish my command to you."

The Sith Lord was a woman, and Torchwick had to admit, quite attractive. She carefully sized up Torchwick while her apprentice, another female, stood a few steps back. "You're angry about your demotion." The Sith finally said. "That's good. Let that anger give you strength. I am Lord Cinder Fall. This is my apprentice, Emerald Sustrai." Her apprentice looked uninterested in the small talk. Torchwick could already tell that spending any time with her would be intolerable.

"I was told reinforcements would be added to the expedition." Torchwick said.

"We are the only reinforcement you will need." Cinder said. "Now, you don't mind serving as pilot, do you?"

"Of course not." Torchwick replied. The question was a formality. Refusal would be death. "It would be an honor to be your pilot."

"Now, where is our Faunus associate?" Cinder asked.

"He is already aboard." Torchwick answered. "He seems quite motivated."

"He would be." Cinder laughed. It was unnerving. "He has been promised that if successful, the Faunus will be freed and he will be made their king. He would take his place as a proud ally of the Empire."

"Does the Empire intend to follow through?" Torchwick asked. He was disgusted at the thought that a sub-human like Adam would be given any authority, even over other mongrels.

"What do you think?" Cinder asked with a smile. "Emerald, verify that the ship conforms to my standards." She said without waiting for Torchwick to reply. Emerald nodded and began examining the ship. Cinder walked past Torchwick and Neo and boarded without another word.

"I assure you, everything is in order." Torchwick said to Emerald.

"I think you'll find the Sith have a very different definition of 'in order.'" Emerald said. "Keep your opinions to yourself unless they are requested." Just as Torchwick had suspected, she was insufferable. Neo was hard to read but even she seemed to regard Emerald and Cinder with distaste. Rivalries were rife amongst the Sith.

Emerald opened a panel on the outside of the ship and examined the wires and pipes inside. "That's high-voltage." Torchwick warned. "It would be a shame if such a mighty Sith was brought down by a little shock." His sarcasm was obvious. Emerald glared at him for a moment before returning to work.

* * *

Weiss and Blake got no rest. Neither was willing to let her guard down while the other was present. Additionally, the captain's quarters they occupied had only one bed, and sharing was out of the question. Blake set up on a couch and sat there, never letting Weiss out of her sight. Weiss did the same to Blake from her seat on the edge of the bed. The standoff lasted hours with neither saying a word.

Finally the silence and tension was too much. "Why did you save me in the ruins?" Blake demanded. "You know I wouldn't do the same for you. I'd rather kill you myself."

"Why do you even care?" Weiss asked.

"I have to know." Blake said. "Is it some kind of trick? Maybe you want to kill me yourself. Tell me."

"I know you hate me, and given the problems your actions have caused me, I'm not very fond of you either." Weiss said. "That said, we are working toward the same goal. We might have different reasons, but at the core we both want to stop the Empire and the Republic from getting their hands on this thing, whatever it is. That makes you an ally. Why wouldn't I help an ally?"

"You think I'm your ally?" Blake laughed. "After what the Empire did to my people, do you think I could ever be your ally?"

"I would hope you can look past where and to whom I was born, and see who I am." Weiss said. "Truth be told, I'm not a big supporter of the Empire and I never have been. I only entered Imperial Intelligence because my father made me. He thought it would instill some patriotism in me. He didn't care how I felt or why I felt that way. Order and prosperity are fine, and those are benefits the Empire brings some of its people, but the cost has always bothered me. Why the need for cruelty? Why the need for domination? Why all the anger and hate? The Republic can bring those things too, without the terrible costs, at least when they're not being corrupt and hypocritical. Why can't the Empire?"

"Do you really expect me to believe you?" Blake challenged. "Do you really expect me to believe than an Imperial Intelligence officer who happens to be the heir of the Empire's wealthiest family doesn't even support the Empire?"

"I don't care what you believe." Weiss said. "It's the truth. The normal Imperial and Sith educational systems may be all propaganda with no dissent, but I wasn't brought up with that. I was trained by a Jedi. A fallen Jedi who rejected the Republic and the Order, but a Jedi nonetheless. He showed me the evils of the Empire and the Republic, the Sith and the Jedi."

"Give me a break." Blake said.

"Look, go on hating me if you want." Weiss sighed. "After what the Empire did to the Faunus I wouldn't blame you if you did. Just know that I truly am sorry for the terrible things the Empire has done, to your people and others. I find it disgraceful that my family would support such a thing, even in the slightest way. It may be impossible to make things right, but I'm going to try until it kills me. Now, I'm going to sleep. I would like to wake up without a lightsaber in my chest but I'm going to go ahead and leave that up to you." True to her word, Weiss went to sleep leaving Blake alone with her thoughts. She had a lot to think about.


	6. Cold Storage

Chapter 6

"There has been a complication at Agamar." Mercury reported. "An Imperial force arrived and had a brief battle against a Republic Fleet resupplying at the planet. The Imperial force was destroyed with the exception of one ship. After a clash with the crew of the Crimson Osprey, they accessed the same ruins. I believe they are also on the same trail."

"We had hoped the Empire would take longer to catch up." His controller said. "What of the Osprey?"

"It just dropped out of Hyperspace near Rhen Var." Mercury replied. "I'm just about to follow."

"Just ensure that you reach the target before the Empire does." The controller ordered.

* * *

Rhen Var was a frozen wasteland but it did have some notable features. Some ruins from its pre-ice age past still poked up through the ice and snow, and the Sith fortress that had been the site of the battle still stood. The Jedi had once had a presence, and many relics remained. There were rumors of old Rakatan ruins as well, buried deep beneath the ice.

"I found something on the scans." Ruby reported. "It looks like there's something under the fortress. It's not like other ice caves or buried ruins. I think it's what we're looking for."

"It makes sense." Blake said. "The Sith have always been attracted to the Rakata and their dark influence. What better place to build a fortress than right atop one of their structures?"

"We've got a problem." Ruby said. "The fortress is occupied, so I don't think we'll be taking the direct route."

"Who's there?" Weiss asked.

"The Republic, judging by the comms traffic at least." Ruby replied. "We need less enemies, not more."

"Is there an alternate route?" Yang asked.

Ruby tapped away at the console, cycling through scans and maps of the planet's surface. "It looks like the whole fortress sits on a glacier covering the Rakata structure." Ruby said. "There might be an ice cave or fissure that could get us under the ice. The fortress overlaps the ruins, but doesn't totally cover them. As long as we're in the ruins, we shouldn't have to worry about stability, but on the way in and out we need to be very careful about cave-ins."

"What about there?" Ren pointed to one of the scans. "It looks like that fissure in the ice leads to a void that includes the ruins."

"It might work." Ruby answered. "If the ice doesn't shift it should get us in."

"Isn't it going to be really cold?" Nora asked. "I didn't bring any winter clothes."

"The ship has some environment suits." Yang said. "They're not too comfortable but they should do the job. We could wear them without the gloves and helmets so they won't limit our dexterity or visibility as much."

"There's a problem with that." Blake said. "We only have four. That means two of us are either going to be cold, or have to stay here."

"I'll stay with the ship." Ren offered. "I can drop you off near the fissure then take off again. That way, it'll be harder for anyone to find us."

"I'll stay too." Nora said. "I don't like the cold."

"It's settled then." Yang said. "Let's suit up and get ready."

* * *

"The Crimson Osprey has turned up at Rhen Var." General Ironwood said. "It's just one more element that doesn't make sense."

"Seemingly random acts, taken together, can point to a reason." Master Ozpin advised. "Have you dispatched any reconnaissance teams to investigate?"

"One of my teams checked out Agamar." Ironwood said. "All we found in the ruins were a bunch of bodies and evidence of a fight. Someone was in there, but we still don't know why. All the inscriptions inside seem to be written in a language no one speaks. There were no artifacts of note and no sign that anything had been removed. As for the Osprey, I sent a special operative to investigate. With any luck, she should be able to get there before the Osprey departs."

"Perhaps the Order should get involved." Ozpin said. "There may be elements that only a Jedi can understand."

"With all due respect, I don't think there's anything a Jedi would know that my soldiers wouldn't." Ironwood said. "These guys are experts in what they do."

"A fresh perspective can make all the difference." Ozpin suggested.

"Yeah, maybe." Ironwood grumbled. "Unfortunately, getting the Order involved in any official capacity will cause a serious delay. We can't afford that right now."

"What if it was unofficial?" Ozpin asked.

"Are you offering your help?" Ironwood countered.

"Not mine in particular." Ozpin replied. "My staff does include an expert scholar who may help with your language barrier. I'm sure he would be willing to assist."

"My team's still on Agamar." Ironwood said. "If he's interested he can go ahead and investigate."

"I'll run it by him." Ozpin promised. "Until then, you should keep searching. You never to what truths the Force may guide you."

* * *

Ren brought the Crimson Osprey into a hover just above the ice. He did not want to touch down, unsure of the ice's stability. He lowered the ramp, allowing Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang to jump off. Ren angled the ship upward and shot off into the sky. He would park in orbit and wait for the ground team to finish their exploration.

"It's still way too cold." Yang said. She pulled her shirt up to cover her mouth and nose, hoping it would help a little. It was more of a psychological boost.

"It's not so bad." Weiss said. "It was colder when I did my cold-weather training on Hoth."

Ruby was shivering. "It should be better when we get underground." Blake suggested. Her cloak provided some extra protection. "At least we won't have to deal with the wind."

It was difficult to see because of the glare and the wind-blown snow, but the fissure was impossible to miss. It was at least ten meters wide and stretched for as far as the eye could see. It looked bottomless. Yang bent and stretched her legs. "See you at the bottom." She said. Without another word, she leapt into the gaping chasm. The others quickly followed.

Yang landed in a crouch, loose snow blowing around her, kicked up by her landing. In quick succession, the other three joined her. Blake was right; it was slightly less cold down here. Light filtered down through the fissure, reflecting and scattering off the ice and snow. The whole cave seemed to glow. Ice surrounded the quartet as they made their way deeper into the cave. Signs of recent cave-ins were cause for concern, but the path ahead was clear.

The cave ended abruptly at a wall that appeared to be made of bricks. They had arrived at the ruins. There were no openings, so they would have to go through. "Stand back." Yang warned. She focused and thrust both her hands forward. A wave of Force energy slammed into the wall and it crumbled, opening a large gap into the ruins. Unfortunately, the damage was not confined to the wall. A deep rumbling shook the cave and large ice stalactites began crashing down.

"Move!" Blake shouted. "Into the ruins!" The group rushed inside as the roof of the cave came slamming down, completely blocking the way back.

"That was too close." Ruby said.

"More importantly, how do we get back?" Weiss asked.

"We'll worry about that later." Blake said. "Right now, let's find the map."

Like the other Rakata structures, the dark side was strong within the Rhen Var ruins. There was more conflict with the light than on Agamar, but the light side was weaker than on Remnant. It may have been the recent influence of Sith occupation. Whatever the cause, the result was a deeply unsettling feeling that affected them all. It was also dark in a more literal sense. Without Nora to light the way with her ability, the group used their lightsabers to provide some illumination.

Soon the group arrived at the central chamber of the ruins. A stone pedestal like the one in the ruins on Agamar sat in the center. Blake approached the pedestal, examining it in the eerie yellow glow of her lightsabers. She adjusted her position slightly and carefully placed her hand atop the pedestal. It lit up brightly, filling the entire chamber with light. Above them, the roof appeared to be glass with ice visible through it. It was too strong to be glass however, holding up the entire glacier as it was. After a few moments, the map appeared. Again, it was an incomplete depiction of the galaxy with a bright point marked on it. Yang recorded it with her datapad.

"Someone's coming." Weiss warned. "I can feel it, but it's strange."

"They couldn't have followed us in through the ice." Yang said. "They must have come from the fortress."

"We don't need an incident with the Republic." Ruby said.

"It's only one person." Weiss said. "I think we can handle it without alerting the rest of the garrison."

Now the group could hear footsteps echoing through corridors leading to the chamber. Blake withdrew her hand from the pedestal and the map disappeared, but parts of the room remained luminous. Apparently, activating the map had activated the lighting system. As the footsteps grew louder, the vague outline of a humanoid figure appeared. A green glow accompanied the figure as it approached. It was a…girl?

A short, ginger-haired, pale-skinned girl walked into the chamber. She wore a tan dress and appeared to be unarmed. She looked about Ruby's age. "Salutations." The girl said. She stood still with a bizarre smile on her face, staring at the group. "Why are you here?"

"Hello friend." Ruby said. "We were just exploring." The group felt relieved. Surely a young girl like this was not a threat.

"Who are you?" Yang asked. "What's a little girl like you doing in a place like this?"

The girl ignored Yang and walked up to Ruby, getting uncomfortably close. She leaned in closer and Ruby leaned away. "You called me friend." The girl said. "Am I really your friend?"

Weiss, Blake and Yang tried to subtly dissuade Ruby from answering in the affirmative. "Sure, why not?" Ruby said uneasily.

"Sensational!" The girl shouted with glee. "I've always wanted a friend!"

"So…friend, who are you and why are you here?" Yang asked.

"I'm Penny." The girl said. "I'm here because you're here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blake asked.

Before Penny could reply, footsteps echoing through the ruins drew the group's attention. Five figures approached from the darkness, three lightsabers lighting their way. They were all red. "Looks like them Empire can read the maps." Weiss sighed.

The Imperials emerged from the darkness and into the doorway of the chamber. One of the Imperials was the officer from Agamar, and another was the Sith he had called Neo. Two female Sith joined them, along with a man. The man, a Faunus dressed all in black, had a vibrosword hanging from his belt. One of the new Sith wore red, and it was easy to feel her tremendous power. She was surely a master. "Well, well, well." The officer said. "Look what we have here. Our pals from Agamar."

"That's Adam." Blake gasped in horror at the sight of the Faunus man.

"Oh, you've met." The officer said. "That saves me the trouble of introducing him."

"I don't like our odds." Ruby said. She, Weiss, Blake and Yang began backing away.

"How did you get here?" Yang asked.

"We simply exterminated the Republic forces manning the fortress." The Sith in red said. "They were very weak, no challenge at all. Their pleas for mercy were quite the treat though."

Penny stepped forward, anger and determination on her face. "Penny, no!" Ruby shouted. "They'll kill you!"

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" Penny said with a salute. Penny's back opened up and a series of blades flew out, floating in a circle behind and above her.

"What are you?" The green-haired Sith asked.

Penny's blades scythed through the air, slicing around in front of the Imperial contingent. They backed up further into the hallway to avoid the razor-sharp blades. "She's controlling them with the force." Blake said. The blades retreated to Penny and formed into a tight circle in front of her. They began spinning around rapidly and a ball of energy formed in the center. After gathering strength, the energy discharged into a beam the cut into the roof above the Imperials' heads. They retreated back into the hallway as the roof began to cave in, followed by tons of the ice and snow from above. As the energy faded, the blades moved into an arc behind Penny's back, becoming almost like wings.

"Penny, thank you." Ruby said in disbelief. "You saved us."

"Anything for a friend!" Penny smiled.

"You also seem to have trapped us." Weiss pointed out. "How are we supposed to get out of here now?"

"I can fix that." Penny said. "Stand back." She warned as she stood in the center of the chamber. The others moved to the edges. Penny's blades formed a rapidly spinning horizontal circle and energy formed in the center. It discharged in a beam straight upward. The beam cut through the roof before melting through the ice and snow above. A column of bright sunlight streamed in. "Is that better?"

"That's perfect." Ruby said in shock. That little girl was tremendously powerful.

"I guess we'll be going then." Yang said.

"Wait!" Penny demanded. She looked serious. "I need to talk to you first. You are the crew of the Crimson Osprey, correct?"

"How did you know that?" Weiss asked.

"I was sent by General Ironwood of the Republic Armed Forces." Penny replied. "You were on Agamar during a space battle, and he finds your actions suspicious. He wants me to find out what you were up to."

"We can't tell the Republic." Blake said. "It would be a disaster for the galaxy if they found out."

"My mission is to find the answer." Penny said. "You will tell me."

"I'll tell you, but you can't tell the Republic." Ruby offered. Penny tilted her head in confusion. "We're friends, right?" Penny nodded eagerly. "Friends keep each other's secrets, right?"

"I suppose so." Penny said.

"If I trust you with my secret, you can't tell anyone." Ruby said. "Not the Republic, not anyone." Penny looked to be having difficulty with the dilemma. "Penny, what other missions do you have, aside from finding the answer?"

"It is my mission to protect the Republic and its people, at all costs." Penny said.

"Penny, if you tell the Republic what I tell you, it will put those people at risk." Ruby said. "What we're dealing with, it's too dangerous for the Republic or the Empire to get it. We need to get it first so we can destroy it."

Penny looked pained. "I…I must protect the Republic." Penny said. "Even if it means disobeying other orders. I will keep your secret."

"Do you promise?" Ruby asked.

"I promise." Penny replied.

"The Infinite Empire left something behind." Ruby said. "We don't know what it is, but we know it's powerful enough to devastate the galaxy. We're looking for maps so we can find it and destroy it."

"If there is a map on Agamar, General Ironwood will find it." Penny warned. "It seems the Empire have found it as well. You will need help if you are to protect the galaxy." Penny's blades folded and flew inside her back. "I will join you to help. I cannot let my friends face danger alone."

"Okay, as long as you don't tell the Republic or help them follow us." Ruby said.

"I will not." Penny said. "I have a promise to keep, friend."

"Now that it's settled, let's get out of here." Yang said. "I'll call the Osprey and have them lower a line for us."

* * *

"State your name and business." The Republic guard ordered.

"I am Master Bartholomew Oobleck." The Jedi said. He had wild green hair and wore round glasses. He was twitchy, not at all displaying the usual calm of a Jedi Master. "I have come to translate the inscriptions in the ruins."

"Go ahead in, we've been expecting you." The guard said. "Hopefully you'll have more luck than we did."

"Luck has nothing to do with it." Oobleck said. "The proper application of knowledge is all that is necessary."

* * *

"So, Blake, you know that Faunus with the Empire?" Yang asked. The Crimson Osprey was in Hyperspace, heading for its next destination, Sriluur.

"Unfortunately." Blake sighed. "He was…my…mentor." She admitted. "Before the Empire discovered that I was Force sensitive, he trained me. We would occasionally sabotage Imperial targets, but he got so violent. He could massacre Imperials whenever he got the chance, and not just soldiers. He would even kill Faunus who opposed him. I couldn't be a part of that, so I ran away. That's when the Empire picked me up. I never thought he would join them, but I guess I'm not that surprised. He was always so ruthless. They must have made him one hell of an offer."

"I guess he's the one translating for them." Yang said.

"I'm so ashamed that a Faunus would help them." Blake said.

"What could they have offered that would turn him?" Ruby asked.

"I think I know." Weiss said. "I only heard rumors, but apparently the Empire was looking for a Faunus to help them keep the other Faunus under control. They would make him king of the Faunus, but he would still be an Imperial pawn."

"That would do it." Blake said. She looked terribly depressed. "He sold out his species for personal power. I can't say I'm that surprised."

"We shouldn't worry about it now." Yang said. "There's nothing we can do about it."

"We've got to stop him." Blake said. "Even if we stop the Empire from getting what we're after, we can't let Adam become king. His rule would be just as brutal as the Empire's. He's a monster."

* * *

"It's fascinating, absolutely fascinating!" Oobleck exclaimed. "A map, left by the Rakata, powered by the Force, which leads to a device of extreme power!"

"That's great, but where does it lead?" Ironwood asked.

"It's incomplete, but there's another map on Rhen Var." Oobleck replied. "It may be like the Star Forge, with a map in many parts. In this case, each map leads to the next."

"Rhen Var?" Ironwood said. "That's where the Crimson Osprey went. I guess we know why. Worryingly, my scout there went dark. She was supposed to report in hours ago, but I haven't heard a thing."

"We should go there as soon as possible!" Oobleck said. "I must examine the ruins there. The treasure trove of knowledge is massive!"


End file.
